IONIA, Mich. (AP) — A company has proposed opening a privately operated federal immigration detention center at the site of a Michigan prison that was closed in 2009.
The Detroit Free Press reports Immigration Centers of America, which operates a detention facility in Farmville, Virginia, was the sole bidder for the former Deerfield Correctional Facility in Ionia.
The newspaper says the $35 million facility would house adult immigrants detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement who haven’t been charged with or convicted of criminal offenses.
Dennis Muchmore, a former chief of staff to Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder who is now a lobbyist working for the detention center company, says Michigan hasn’t approved the sale. He says the federal government also would need to issue a request for a facility to hold about 500-600 detainees.
